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HOTTER ON METALS: Steel futures follow the rebar holy grail

A decade ago, the Shanghai Futures Exchange launched its steel rebar futures contract. In the years that followed it has become the gold standard for steel derivatives, achieving a success that other exchanges aspire to emulate.

And they are definitely trying, with a total of 11 steel derivatives contracts launched by the main trading exchanges since.
SHFE, which launched a wire rod futures contract at the same time as rebar, is now planning to develop products to hedge through the steel supply chain including ferro-chrome and stainless steel 304-2B.
It is also looking into the possibility of a cold-rolled coil contract too, Jin Ming, assistant manager of SHFE’s commodity department told delegates at this week’s Steel Success Strategies XXXIV conference in New York.
Last year, SHFE’s steel rebar contract achieved volumes of 531 million lots, equivalent to 25 times its production in mainland China. It is widely viewed as a great proxy for the state of the Chinese economy, given its use to reinforce and strengthen concrete and masonry in construction projects. This inherently helps boost its popularity as a result.
The composition of the participants in the...

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